Orbitz launches iPhone, Android apps for finding and booking travel

Travel site Orbitz has released mobile apps for iOS and Google Android, allowing you to search for flights, hotel rooms, or cars from your phone. There’s nothing new there. There are a number of other apps which offer similar services, but Orbitz says its app is the first which can actually let you book your travel plans directly from the app. Most other travel apps dump you out to your phone’s mobile web browser when it comes time to actually book your flight.

I took the iOS app for a spin on my iPod touch and it was a little finicky. The first few times I tried to search for a flight, the app told me it couldn’t perform that function because I didn’t have an internet connection, even though I was connected to my home network. Rebooting my iPod touch seemed to solve the problem, although I did notice that at one point after rebooting the app still reported the wrong travel date (I used the controls to select January 3rd, but the date field said December 3rd).

For now I’d recommend looking over your data twice, maybe three times before booking your trip. But overall the Orbitz mobile apps look like a pretty good option for frequent travelers — especially travelers who already have Orbitz accounts.